Tyler Perry Says He’s ‘Beyond Interested’ In Buying BET: ‘It’s Not A Rumor’

Tyler Perry

Tyler Perry Says He’s ‘Beyond Interested’ In Buying BET: ‘It’s Not A Rumor’

There is no stopping Tyler Perry in his quest to purchase BET!

During a recent interview with ET’s Nischelle Turner, Tyler Perry revealed that there’s truth to the rumors about him aiming to buy a majority stake in BET.

Tyler Perry shared,

“Rumor? No, it’s not a rumor. I’ve been there for four years now and had tremendous success. I wasn’t expecting this to happen, so, yes — if that is possible, I’m very, very interested in taking as much of it…If it’s possible, I’m gonna take as much of it as I can.”

Tyler Perry

Tyler Perry isn’t the only one that has his eyes set on BET. Both Byron Allen and Diddy are interested in buying into the network.

Although the filmmaker has some competition, he is pleased to see people of color vying for the network.

“Part of it is – and I’ve read about Byron Allen and Puffy and everybody wanting to bid and so on and so forth, and I think it’s really great. This is what I love about it – when Bob Johnson sold it in 2000, I think it was, there wasn’t one black person who could buy it. So now, to see all of these black people, men and women, who are able to be in a position to buy it? Man, that makes me feel really, really excited.”

According to the actor, he is thrilled at the thought of the network being Black-owned again.

Perry explained,

“I think there was sadness when Bob sold it, and I think there’ll be happiness when it’s Black-owned again. And even though Shari (Redstone) and what is it? Viacom and Paramount? They’ve done a phenomenal job with it. They didn’t let it fall by the wayside; they didn’t let it go into dust. They nurtured it and took care of it.”

He continued,

“And to see Shari at this position saying, ‘I think it should be returned to a black owner?’ I figured, ‘OK, see, that’s my kind of person.'”

As for when we can expect this sale to occur, Tyler Perry kept his lips sealed, maintaining that a resolution is near.

“We can very much say that there are conversations. I am beyond interested.”

Tyler Perry currently has a minority stake in the operation and also produces a large portion of the programming available on BET and streaming service BET+, which he helped launch in 2019. Perry’s list of TV shows available on BET and BET+ includes “House of Payne,” “Sisters,” “The Oval,” “Ruthless,” “Zatima” and “Assisted Living.”

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below! 

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